CHAPTER 1. State Parks and Monuments [5001 - 5077.8]

ARTICLE 3.6. Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve [5045 - 5049]

(a) The tufa and associated sand structures at Mono Lake are a valuable geologic and scientific natural resource and are unique in North America for their beauty, abundance, diversity, and public accessibility. Their extreme fragility requires special measures for their protection and preservation for the enjoyment and education of the public.

(b) The Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve is hereby established as a unit of the state park system and shall consist of the state-owned portions of the Mono Lake bed lying at or below the elevation of 6,417 feet above sea level. As soon as practicable after January 1, 1982, the State Lands Commission shall issue a permit for occupancy to the department pursuant to Section 6221.

(c) (1) The reserve shall include, and the department shall manage, all resources within the reserve’s boundaries, including, but not limited to, the waters of Mono Lake.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), nothing in this subdivision grants the department authority over any of the following:

(A) The instream flow requirements of the tributaries to Mono Lake.

(B) The water surface elevation of Mono Lake.

(C) The water production, diversion, storage, and conveyance activities of the City of Los Angeles.

(D) The determination of water quality standards for Mono Lake.

(d) As soon as practicable after January 1, 1982, the State Lands Commission shall issue a permit for occupancy to the department pursuant to Section 6221.

(a) The reserve shall be managed primarily for the purpose of protecting the tufa and associated sand structures and providing for their interpretation. The department shall designate public accessways to Mono Lake for recreational and other purposes that are not in conflict with the preservation of the tufa and associated sand structures.

(b) The department may enter into agreements with any other public agency to provide for the joint management of the reserve and the provision of visitor and interpretive services and facilities in connection therewith. For purposes of administrative support, departmental personnel may be assigned to any other unit of the state park system in the vicinity of the reserve.

(c) The department shall commence managing the reserve, including all resources within the reserve’s boundaries which includes the waters of Mono Lake, as soon as practicable after January 1, 1982, and, to this end, the reserve is exempt from the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 5002.2 because the only improvements contemplated at the reserve are temporary facilities within the meaning of subdivision (c) of Section 5002.2.

(a) No provision of this article shall be construed to interfere with any reasonable use of land or other activity existing or occurring on or before January 1, 1981, within the boundary of the reserve that does not conflict with the purposes for which the reserve is established. Accordingly, any such use of land or other activity is not subject to Section 5001.65.

(b) No provision of this article or Section 5019.65 is intended, nor shall be construed, to interfere in any way with the City of Los Angeles’ diversion of water from streams tributary to Mono Lake pursuant to state water rights licenses numbered 10191 and 10192.

(c) No provision of this article shall be construed to affirm or deny the legal right of the City of Los Angeles to divert water from the Mono Basin.

(d) No provision of this article shall be construed for the purpose of establishing, or interfering with the establishment of, the ownership of relicted lands in the current litigation between California and the United States.

Any disturbance, defacement, displacement, or other interference with any tufa or associated sand structure by any person or instrumentality is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

This section shall apply to all tufa and associated sand structures within the Mono Lake basin, regardless of their location on public or private lands or within or without the boundaries of the reserve. The department shall provide for the enforcement of, and any other peace officer within the Mono Basin shall enforce, this section.